A short ride

[donsrods]

We've had to pull the 455 Olds out of my Son Dan's rpu to build a new block, we scored a cylinder in the one that was in it. But he took a short video of a night ride he took one night and thought you guys might like going along for a little roadster ride.

Crank up the speakers and open it to full page for the full effect.

Don


http://www.youtube.com/user/dhdh71

 

[Sniper]

Sweet!

 

[gassersgarage]

Very cool. My '49 use to sound like that with the sidepipes, but after a 70 mile trip, I put a full exhaust under it. Still has the sidepipes in case a buyer wants them. Guess I'm getting old........

 

[42chevy]

Very nice! I bet that is very quick.

 

[donsrods]

Thanks guys. Yeah, 42, it pulled pretty well even though two of the cylinders weren't seating. Hopefully, the new motor we are building will take care of that.

Gassersgarage, Dan has found out also that it is too loud on a long trip. He is going to have new headers built that aim down and are megaphones instead of the current 4 tube headers. That should be a little quieter.

Here is a video the first day we got it running. As you can see by the black streaks, he was enjoying driving it finally after 5 years of building it.

Don

http://www.youtube.com/user/dhdh71#p/a/u/1/jKPKKfDR30Y

 

[Rickomatic]

Very nice pick up. I hope the new (to you) motor comes back from the machine shop quick and is close to the quality of you and your boy's work.

 

[Gastrick]

Nice video Don. Too bad about the engine, it must be frustrating. I want that thing back together before Daytona

 

[donsrods]

Thanks Rick and Bill. Oh yeah, it is a lot of fun, especially since the body had to come back off to get the engine out. We've done that so many times (first time for the torque convertor problem) that we are thinking of using wing nuts on everything.

I think this time around the new block will come back better than the old block. I used that one shop for about 25 years and like the owner a lot, but lately we have had a few problems with engines he has done, so I am trying a new shop this time, one that only builds race motors. They had a 2200 hp big block Chevy on the engine dyno when I was in there, and the entire place is very impressive. It might cost a little more, but I have a feeling it will be machined properly this time.

We are also going to a looser converter this time. He had a 2400 in it and we are going to a 3000. The cam is pretty wicked and the first convertor wasn't letting the rpms come up high enough on launch. He also had to put it in neutral at redlights or the torque would pull the car forward.

Just some of those new car bugs that always crop up, I guess.

Don

 

[rainman]

Thanks for the vids, mean truck!!! Have any idea why it scored the walls? Just too tight? Not enough crosshatch maybe?

 

[bob w]

Thanks for the ride. When you guys get it back together a video at something well over highway speed would be fun.[cl

I too am curious about the reason for scoring. A neighbor recently gave me a 350 SBC with scored cylinder walls after only a few hours running time.

 

[donsrods]

Rainman, I think the piston to wall clearances were a little tight. The shop that I am now using asked me who machined the last block and I told them I really didn't want to say, as I do like the owner. Finally, I told him and he said " I'm like you, I think the world of ____________. but he sets his engines up with only about .0015 clearance and that is too tight." He said the reason he does that is it makes for a quieter running engine.........the pistons don't rattle until warmed up. The new shop owner sets his up looser and while they might be a little noisier, they hold up better, especially with forged pistons, like Dan is running. I know the 331 stroker in my 27 rattles like mad until it warms up, so maybe he is right about extra clearances being necessary.

He also told me that the rule of thumb I had always gone by (.004 clearance per each inch of bore) on the ring gaps, is now way too tight. He said to set them up at .006 per inch of bore, or about .026 to .028. I asked him about compression getting by the bigger gap and he said on the dyno you lose about 3 hp overall, not enough to worry about. He said they set some of their blown and nitros motors up at .050 end gap !

This 455 runs on the warm side as it is, about 200-210 going down the road or sitting at a light. So things tighten up a little inside anyway. I am going to spend a lot more time this time around making sure all my clearances are right.......don't want a repeat of this problem again.

 

[Sam_Fear]

Interesting stuff^^^.

 

[rainman]

Sounds right! Would be different forged pistons, vs. cast. Even forged I would go 2 to 3. I'm like you I would rather be slightly loose than tight!!
Good luck, that thing should be a monster!! If he can get it hooked!!

BTW might be a good time to buy stock in a tire company!! ha ha

 

[rainman]

Sounds right! Would be different forged pistons, vs. cast. Even forged I would go 2 to 3, cast minimum of 3. I'm like you I would rather be slightly loose than tight!!
Good luck, that thing should be a monster!! If he can get it hooked!!

BTW might be a good time to buy stock in a tire company!! ha ha

Don't mean to bother you but I had one more question. Were you able to rehone it, or did you have to rebore? ( how bad was the scoring?)

 

[donsrods]

I think the block could have been bored to .60 and saved (it is now .040 over) or at worst resleeved. But we weighed the cost of buying new pistons (about $ 400) plus the machining, and we decided to just use another block. As luck would have it, I found a virgin used block on CraigsList about 3 miles from our shop, so we bought it and that is the one we are having machined.

This morning I am heading to our shop to pull the crank out of the old engine to have it checked by the machine shop. We were also getting a strange pattern on the rod bearings and I want him to make sure the first shop did that right. Dan doesn't know his engine is in the machine shop (he was waiting until he had the money saved up) but I am going to sneak this job through and he can pay me back later. If we don't keep moving on getting it back together he will never make Turkey Run in November.

Don

 

[Gastrick]

Hey that's really cool of you Don. I know Dan will really appreciate it though. Just tell him since you dropped the coin at the machine shop, he HAS to get it back together for Daytona. I really want to see this thing in person. Also, I had a 3000 converter in one of my previous cars because of the radical cam and it was a bit loose to be comfortable in traffic but launched like a bear. I guess it was just dumb luck with my current coupe but my converter/cam situation seemed to work out fairly well, even though I have a lot of overlap. You've heard it so you know what I mean. I have my idle set a little on the high side right now though so it doesn't lope as much when sitting still.

 

[donsrods]

I think one of the issues with the convertor, Bill, is that big blocks take a different stall than a comparable small block.....something about them having too much torque even at idle, so they overpower the convertor. I called B and M because the one in it came from them, and the guy there told me the one we have is ok for small blocks only. The 3,000 stall will be a Hole Shot,and is a 10 inch vs the old 12 incher.

Don has a 3,000 stall in his T Bucket and even with highway gears in the rear it launches hard. He also can idle in gear without it lurching or pulling.

Don